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Greetings from The Peoples Channel, Chapel Hill and Orange County’s nonprofit Community Media Center and Public Access Television Station. It has been a very exciting year at TPC and I’m proud to say that after three and a half years as the Director, every day I’m still excited to open the doors of this facility. It’s not the building itself that keeps me invigorated, it’s the people that fill it, the calls from the community, and the generous support of our patrons.
This coming year TPC will continue to grow in phenomenal ways. At the beginning of 2008, TPC will start cablecasting entirely in a digital format! This will improve our image and add dynamic programming tools which will tell viewers who sponsored the program or what’s on next.
For the third year in a row, TPC will offer its Summer Youth Media Camp, taking young adults beyond the role of passive viewers, into the role of active agents in the media. TPC will also expand its course offerings to include blogging, podcasting, audio storytelling and more.
Yet despite our successful growth, TPC has never faced such uncertain times. Passage by the NC legislature of the “Video Services Competition Act,” which took effect January 2007, could prove to be seriously detrimental to TPC and other public access stations across the state. We can no longer count on the Public Access Fee, which amounts to $121,000 of our $160,000 annual budget. Though this will be a difficult hurdle to overcome, I refuse to imagine the demise of this unique resource. I refuse to picture Channel 8 filled with infomercials or displaced by yet another commercial station. I refuse to believe that another organization could fill The Peoples Channel’s shoes. For nearly 10 years, TPC has been providing unique and valuable opportunities to area residents and it has done so on a very tight budget.
When I think about what we do, I don’t think just about the shows that appear on the channel. I think more about the people who make those shows and how they found their way to our door. Community members may see our programs, but rarely do they see the faces behind those programs. And it’s these faces that make TPC the outstanding resource it is.
This summer, we had nearly 30 young adults in TPC’s second annual Summer Youth Media Camp, a third of whom received scholarships. One student in particular sticks in my mind. Crystal first came to TPC through a mentoring program at the Women’s Center. Her family had no financial resources for the camp, but because of the community’s support, we were able to get her and her brother into the camp two years in a row. Because of her experiences at TPC, Crystal now is planning a documentary. She’s only 14 years old.
I also think about Manzoor Cheema, a scientist who walked into an orientation in 2004 and told the group he wanted to become a documentary filmmaker even though he had no media experience and no funding. As a result of the training and networking resources he found at TPC, he was able to create something wonderful. The program he helped found, Independent Voices, is now syndicated weekly on over 50 Public Access stations nationwide. He also produces another weekly program called Carolina Currents, and has a third, Taj Connection, in the works.
Andy Thompson is another name that comes to mind when I think about the people of TPC. Andy was a senior in high school when he first came to TPC looking to fulfill his community service requirements. Not only did he finish his requirements, but he went on to Florida State to study film and video. Last year, Andy won a Burke Award for his rendition of The Canterbury Tales.
To be honest, I am fearful for the future of TPC and its funding. In the next 5 years, The Peoples Channel needs to become self-sufficient. It needs to be able to raise the lion’s share of funds for its annual budget. This will not be an easy task, given that we have only been fundraising seriously for the last 3 years. Yet it has been a great learning experience for both myself and the Board, and we have been successful in many ways.
Last year we raised nearly $7,000 more than in the previous year. That happened not only because of the dedication of the Board members and staff of TPC, but also because of your generosity. Thank you so very much! But the stakes are even higher this year. By the end of the year, we need to raise at least $5,000. We are stretched to the limit and can do nothing more without significant growth in our funding base. We need you. We cannot do it without you.
Imagine The Peoples Channel with an adequately staffed office. Imagine TPC being able to offer courses year round focusing on youth. Imagine TPC being able to provide more programs and services for our growing senior population. Imagine more services geared towards the nonprofit community enabling those agencies to reach out even more to the constituencies they serve. Imagine The Peoples Channel becoming a household name in Chapel Hill and Orange County.
This is our dream, and we need your help to make it come true. So, if you gave to TPC last year, thank you, thank you, thank you! Please consider giving again… just a little more. If you gave $100 last year, try to give $200 this year. If you have not donated in the past, reflect on how good it will feel to be a part of this critical moment in this organization’s history. Give as much as you can, then please stretch and give just a little more. Let’s see how far we can take this dream for our remarkable Community Media Center.
Thank you again for making The Peoples Channel all it can be. And thank you for making my job so very wonderful!
Sincerely,
Chad A. Johnston
P.S. Make sure you check out TPC’s new incentives to give! With your gift you can get a t-shirt, thanks on our web site, or free tickets to our 10 year anniversary bash!
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Chad Johnston at 919.960.0088 or email johnston@thepeopleschannel.org
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